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Most meditation techniques are exclusively passive.
You are told to relax and let go of thought. Of course, there
is nothing harder to do than to let go of thought. Trying to avoid
thought will keep reminding you of what you are trying not to
think about. Even if you did manage to still the mind and release
the rational, logical thought process, you have not directed the
consciousness with a statement of purpose. Releasing control should
be done selectively. You want to release your thinking process
to your Source, not just to whatever influence might be available.
The First Commitment I will approach the meditation experience with a sense of anticipation and expectancy. I expect to be changed by this experience. The first commitment is to avoid allowing meditation to become routine. Your success in any venture depends largely on what you expect to accomplish. If you enter meditation expecting to repeat what you experienced yesterday, it is stagnation, not meditation. If you expect limited success you have already accomplished that limitation. It is not necessary to establish particular expectations, but to approach meditation with a sense that 'something' is going to happen, much like one approaches a lover with breathless anticipation. Always enter meditation with a thrilling sense of expectancy, as an adventure and as a growth. The Second Commitment I will forgive myself all mistakes and errors. I affirm that it is all right to make mistakes. I am not my past. I will not cling to an old image. I am prepared to see myself in a new way. I will die to who I used to be and find out who I can become. Meditation is a step in Metamorphosis. If I continue to see myself as a Caterpillar, I will not become a Butterfly. If I wish to become new, it is necessary to end my association with what I have been. If I keep my awareness of mistakes and failures alive, I will identify with those mistakes and continue experiencing them. The commitment to forgiveness releases both myself and others from old images and allows us to become new. The commitment to forgiveness is a commitment to die to the past and begin life anew. The Third Commitment Old things are passed away,
behold all things become new. It is a commitment to a new life. I feel as though I am awakening to a new and different me. I do not know yet just what I will be like but I do know that there is a more beautiful me being born and those who know me will be thrilled with the joyous, harmonious new being I am becoming. If you deliberately give yourself this opportunity for change every day, you will find out how easy it is to release old habits and reactions. You will discover better ways to relate and communicate. Any person who makes a daily attempt to be a better and more beautiful person is a delight to be with. People who become defensive and make excuses about mistakes are people who are begging to avoid growth and change. They are also doomed to experience again and again the uncomfortable results of old patterns and habits. The third commitment sets your mind on becoming new. The Fourth Commitment I commit myself to increase awareness that I am not alone. There is a 'presence' or factor alive within me, that spurs me on to growth. There is a living impulse to be more than an animal or a machine. This presence is like a teacher, a friend, closer than a brother. I will stop all else for a moment to become more aware of this presence and come to know it better. The fourth commitment is an invocation of the Divine presence
within. It is an affirmation that the Source 'meets me half way.'
I am on my way to the mountain top. At the top of the mountain,
I will sit quietly with my Source to be renewed, attuned, fed,
and strengthened. But that Source is with me all the way. The
fourth commitment is the experience of stopping for a moment to
be aware that there is always something with me that inspires
and encourages me. It is the presence that is like a teacher,
a friend.
Thy will be done. Each of us has hopes, wishes, aspirations and ambitions. We may
have daydreamed about a particular wish to be fulfilled and we
may be struggling to produce the kind of life we have considered
ideal. The effect of these dreams can be a little comical when
they lead to vague apprehension that 'what God wants me to do
may differ from this dream I hold.' Sometimes there can be a feeling
of 'I'd rather not know.' Suppose God wants me to do this or give
up that? After all, the spiritual path is supposed to be hard,
isn't it? The Sixth Commitment Because I am now asking
for strength, renewal and inspiration, I commit myself to take
responsibility for all that I receive. Entering into meditation is like asking for an appointment with
God. Surely this opportunity carries with it responsibility. I
do not intend to get up after meditation and go my way unconsciously
as if it never happened. I accept responsibility for taking with
me the peace and renewed vitality of this experience to add something
more beautiful to the world. I expect to be changed by this experience
but I also expect to take responsibility for making change work.
While I do expect the Source to work on me to effect change, I
also commit myself to that change. It is not exclusively a passive
experience. I will make an effort toward change. I will accept
responsibility for the inspiration and guidance I receive. The Seventh Commitment I commit myself to silence.
The previous six commitments have required an action or decision. The Seventh Commitment is passive, silent, listening. Having made commitments and taken action upon them, it is now time to release, relax and let the meditation happen. Activity, visualization, and thinking should cease and the meditation becomes a receptive experience.
Finally, these commitments may appear complex and too much to remember. But, all these steps are needed for a perfect meditation experience. There is no need to settle for less.
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